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Alex laughed. “I think Simon is one of the few who can keep the future Viscount Whetford in his place, even if that is only because Robin might think he’ll leave him.”
“Simon’s been sitting in the archive as well. We’ve put his detective skills to use while he’s signed off sick as he thought his brain might go mushy otherwise. He was saying Robin will be home on a permanent basis in a couple of weeks and he’s started to look for properties.”
“Dorian thinks Robin’s feeling a bit of a knob for having not done it already.”
Dara took a long drink of his pint. “I guess when you think you might lose the love of your life you start to look at things a bit differently. Twenty quid says they’ll be married by Christmas.”
“Twenty-five it’ll be before Halloween.”
Dara side-eyed him. “Do you have insider information?”
“Only what Dorian thinks, but he’s hardly going to be the most reliable source. No, men like Robin do not share well. I read his parents were married within eight weeks of meeting, so I reckon Robin’s planning something swift once he’s home.”
“You’ve worked for men like Robin, I daresay you’ve better insights than most. Now, back to your love life. I won’t let you steer me off topic again.”
“I’m going to talk to him. We’ve technically only a week left of our agreement and next weekend we going to go to dinner at a place I’ve always wanted to go to but could never have afforded. I’ll say something then.”
It gave him a week. A whole week to plan his actions, to make sure he was word-perfect. He might not get what he wanted but if he didn’t try he’d always have regrets, and this was in his hands now. Dorian was a great fake boyfriend and now Alex was ready to see if he could do it for real.
CHAPTER32
Simon was waiting on the terrace, a mug of tea in hand. Dorian sat next to him. “I wasn’t sure you were coming.”
“Sorry, I got waylaid.”
“Nothing too terrible I hope.”
He’d been talking to Rowan about a few scripts he’d got his hands on and thought might be of interest. “My new agent wanted to run a few ideas past me. I can’t say any of them jumped at me.”
His mind wandered to the various offerings, thinking he might run them past Alex in the morning. The thought of Alex led him back to the circle of internal arguments.
Simon kicked him. “Are you all right?” Simon asked.
“I’ve got a lot on my mind.”
“Something you want to talk about or is it one of those you internalise and stomp it right down?”
“There speaks the voice of experience.”
“If you ever meet my ex-husband you’ll understand why.” He laughed. “But seriously, I can be a friendly ear if you need one.”
He could brush it away but he’d been burying things for years and it wasn’t a healthy way to deal with them. “It’s the stuff with Alex. We’re due to come to an end and I’m not sure how I feel about it.”
“In what way?”
“I had been thinking we’d been getting on really well and working great, so I could broach the idea of extending it, but now I don’t think I could do that and not get too attached.”
Simon blew across the surface of his tea. “What’s wrong with getting attached? Unless you don’t believe it would be reciprocated.”
“Maybe it would be, I dunno to be honest.” He thought back to the kiss on the beach, how he’d stepped back before he did something stupid like snog Alex within an inch of his life. “Idolike him, but not sure he’d be what I want in a partner. I met up with a few friends this weekend and I doubt he would have fitted in.”
“Oh, right, why would that be?”
“All the conversation was about the industry—it was nice to be surrounded by it and I had a great time being with people who understood. If I’d dragged Alex in it wouldn’t have been fair.”
“Not every evening will be like that, and you and your partner don’t have to be cast from the same mould.” Simon gave Dorian a look he couldn’t interpret. “You had that with your fake girlfriends and Robin, and look how those turned out.”
“Bit unfair. This isn’t about me, but Alex.”
